Today's News: Our Take - Gossip Girl: Who Died? Who Went to the Big House? And How Will the Series End?

By TV Guide

Dover Post

By TV Guide

Posted Dec. 10, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 11, 2012 at 1:00 AM

By TV Guide

Posted Dec. 10, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 11, 2012 at 1:00 AM

[Spoiler alert: This story reveals major plot points from Monday's penultimate episode of Gossip Girl. If you haven't watched, sign off now! Xoxo!]

There's only one episode left of Gossip Girl left, and so The CW series kicked several major story lines into high gear in anticipation of its long-awaited series finale. So where do our favorite Upper East Siders (not to mention the Lonely Boy from Brooklyn) stand now going into the final stretch? Read on for the most scandalous, arresting and breathtaking moments from Monday's episode:

Chuck What Happened:Gossip Girl may be B and S's party but they can cry all they want to, because this episode was all about Chuck dealing with his daddy issues once and for all. The younger Bass tried many different ways to get the deets on Bart's illegal business dealings, but to no avail. Instead, Bart threatened to kidnap Blair and when he dropped her off safely, he told Chuck to leave New York forever to protect the ones he loves. Chuck boarded a plane to Moscow, but the plane crashed hours later, leaving Blair fearing the absolute worst. Fortunately, Chuck saw the whole thing coming and escaped a fiery death. He confronted his father about his murderous plan and the two subsequently traded blows on the top of a fancy high-rise building. Bart tried to knock his son out, but Chuck moved out of the way and the momentum from the punch made Bart topple over the edge. He hung on for a few minutes, but Chuck and Blair refused to help him in time, and he fell off the side to his death. What's Next: Ding-dong, Bart Bass is gone. For realz, this time. And after being engaged in a contentious battle with his father for months, Chuck is obviously the prime suspect. Can he and Blair finally be together? Or will he really have to escape the country like his father so desperately wanted? The previews showed Blair in what looked like a wedding dress, but the promo also showed cops running after Chuck so...

Page 2 of 3 - Blair What Happened: After Chuck finally invited her to join his plot against his evil father, Blair got her ducks b----es in a row and tried to manipulate Bart into giving one of them the skinny on his illegal oil trading. Alas, Bart knew well enough to keep his mouth shut, and to try to send Chuck away to Moscow for good, but not before Chuck - finally! - gave his fiancée a passionate kiss goodbye. And then Chuck had to go and accidentally(?) kill his dad! Men! What's Next: Will Blair get her fairy tale ending that she and Chuck planned long ago in Monte Carlo? And will the emerging fashion designer be forced to go on without the love of her life or her BFF (see below)?

Serena What Happened: Still pissed over Dan's vicious essay about her, Serena decided it was time for her to pack up and move far, far away from the Big Apple where she could truly start fresh without everyone knowing the dirty secrets Dan revealed. Dan tried to stop her and prove his love to her by showing her the other, nicer version of his essay that went unpublished but she refused to read it and flew off to California. What's Next: The super stealth Dan slipped his love letter to Serena into one of her bags, and the preview hinted at her imminent return to NYC. Will Dan finally get it right and win her back? Or will Serena, for once in her life, choose herself over a guy? Our bets on the former, but anything can happen, right?

Nate What Happened: Nate followed in his father's footsteps right into the back of a cop car and into jail when Bart learned that Nate was double-crossing Bart Sr. because of his friendship with Bass Jr. At least the mugshot TMZ posted of Nate looked "cute," right? Uh, anyways, it was Nate's dad, a former inmate himself, who helped spring his boy and gave him a) money to help with The Spectator's books and b) a good ol' fashioned pep talk to follow his dreams. What's Next: Now that The Spectator is on its last legs and Nate has a criminal record, he has nothing left to lose and everything to gain from going back on his agreement with Gossip Girl and exposing her (or his?) true identity. Even if Nate's story line for the past season (or two, or five) has been boring, he'll go out on one heck of a note if he manages to expose the real Gossip Girl once and for all.

Page 3 of 3 - Dan What Happened: As if everybody didn't hate Humphrey enough, he made a deal with the devil, aka Bart Bass, to write a fluff piece on him in exchange for Bart writing a nice recommendation letter for Dan to get the New York apartment of his dreams. However, in order to try to win Serena back, he lost any good will he had with Bart by giving Chuck the floor during Bart's introduction at a fancy event. In the end, Dan resumed his Season 1 role of creepy, overeager admirer and told Serena he was moving into her building... just as she was leaving for the airport. What's Next: Will Dan's prose be the nail in his coffin? Or his saving grace? That depends on if Serena reads the essay he snuck into her bag, and more importantly, just how seriously she takes his declaration of love after all he put her through this year. After everything he's done, we wouldn't take Lonely Boy back either, but he did just sign a deal with Harvey Weinstein and Serena has dreams of going into the movie business so their romance could be mutually beneficial.

What did you think of Gossip Girl's second-to-last episode? How do you think thing should, and/or will, wrap up next week? The Gossip Girl series finale airs Monday at 8/7c on The CW.